Jeff Mitchell: FPPC needs to investigate mystery PAC

By now you've heard about this crazy nonsense about the political action committee dubbed Californians for Law and Order.

Apparently it was set up to help the county's Public Defender's Associationattorneys raise money to assist Superior Court Judge candidate (and likely winner) Andy Liu.

The PAC, however, was abandoned early on, then used as a vehicle to smear Sheriff Scott Miller during his reelection campaign. How all that exactly happened is still unclear. In fact, it's downright murky.

Interestingly PAC organizer and local political operative Chris Marohn was also apparently under contract to work for Mike Richards, a former Sheriff's Office commander and one of Miller's challengers.

Draw from that what you will.

Many of you know that I am a big fan of Renaissance-era Italian political scientist Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli and his strategies. When not taken to the extreme, they can make politics downright fun and very interesting. They're aggressive and assertive but basically fair.

In this case of this PAC, however, I suspect open deception was the plan from the start and it's this kind of thing that sours voters on local politics. Either that or monumental incompetency.

Miller certainly in no way deserved the attacks and I'm glad he came out on top. I suspect he will win handily in November against challenger deputy Steve Bernal.

And though it may be true that a registered PAC can legally spend money any way it wants, it's weird that this particular one was left adrift shortly after it was brought to life by Marohn.

And that's not all.

It's also been widely reported that Marohn agreed to do field organizing for Liu – the superior court judge candidate who went up again Deputy DA Steve Somers.

Only, it seems that Marohn went to work for Somers, too, and kind of forgot to tell Liu about it.

Kind of an important fact to forget about, eh?

So I called Marohn Monday afternoon to give him a chance to explain his side of the story. He declined to comment on the matter.

And then there's the little matter of this PAC filing its contribution reports in neighboring San Benito County – a legal but clearly an intentionally deceptive practice.

The truth is that there's probably a lot more we don't yet know about Californians for Law and Order.

But I do know this – while campaigns themselves can get duped by unscrupulous political operators, most voters are smart enough to see through the BS, and, in this case, a big chunk of you did and ended up supporting Miller.

I also know this: Until Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Legislature get serious about fully funding the California Fair Political Practices Commission (by like a lot), we're just going to see more of this shady stuff.

Machiavelli, by the way, won by out-strategizing and creatively out-thinking his political opponents – not by using subterfuge, betrayal and open deception.

Keep in mind, folks, that it's likely to stay this way until you all get mad enough to bring some heat to your elected representatives. Tell them you want them to step up and fully fund the FPPC – especially its emaciated enforcement division staff.

Want to know more about the sales tax ballot measure?

For those of you wondering, City Council action on the proposed sales tax and utility users tax ballot measures is scheduled for the body's June 24 meeting.

At TheCalifornian.com's urging, the city has posted the language and details around the measures on its website. It's pretty thick stuff, but I urge you to spend some time soon going over it. The sales tax measure in particular is a big, big deal and its passage is critical.

To check out what the council will be doing, go here:

http://www.ci.salinas.ca.us/news.cfm#Revenue

Jeff Mitchell covers Salinas Valley politics and government. Under the Dome, a reported opinion column, appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in print and online. Email him at jemitchell@thecalifornian.com. For quick political hits, check out Under the Dome – The Blog, available most every day at: www.theCalifornian.com